Semiconductor Devices with Backside Air Gap Dielectric

ABSTRACT

A method includes providing a structure having transistors, an isolation structure over the transistors, metal plugs through the isolation structure and connecting to the transistors, and a trench with the isolation structure and the metal plugs as sidewalls. The method further includes forming a dielectric liner on the sidewalls of the trench and over the isolation structure and the metal plugs. The dielectric liner is thicker at an opening portion of the trench than at another portion of the trench so that an air gap is formed inside the trench and the air gap is surrounded by the dielectric liner. The method further includes depositing a sacrificial layer over the dielectric liner and over the air gap and performing CMP to remove the sacrificial layer and to recess the dielectric liner until the isolation structure and the metal plugs are exposed. The air gap remains inside the trench.

BACKGROUND

The semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) industry has experiencedexponential growth. Technological advances in IC materials and designhave produced generations of ICs where each generation has smaller andmore complex circuits than the previous generation. In the course of ICevolution, functional density (i.e., the number of interconnecteddevices per chip area) has generally increased while geometry size(i.e., the smallest component (or line) that can be created using afabrication process) has decreased. This scaling down process generallyprovides benefits by increasing production efficiency and loweringassociated costs. Such scaling down has also increased the complexity ofprocessing and manufacturing ICs. Hence, semiconductor manufacturingprocesses need continued improvements. One area of improvements is howto reduce stray capacitance among features of field effect transistors.

It is generally desirable to reduce stray capacitance between metalfeatures, such as metal lines and/or metal plugs, in order to increaseswitching speed, decrease switching power consumption, and/or decreasecoupling noise of the circuits. Certain low-k materials have beensuggested as insulator materials to reduce stray capacitance. However,as semiconductor technology progresses to smaller geometries, thedistances between the metal features are further reduced, whichincreases stray capacitance. Therefore, although existing approaches insemiconductor fabrication have been generally adequate for theirintended purposes, they have not been entirely satisfactory in allrespects.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is best understood from the following detaileddescription when read with the accompanying figures. It is emphasizedthat, in accordance with the standard practice in the industry, variousfeatures are not drawn to scale and are used for illustration purposesonly. In fact, the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarilyincreased or reduced for clarity of discussion.

FIGS. 1A and 1B show a flow chart of a method of forming a semiconductordevice with air gap on a backside of a wafer, according to variousaspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate a perspective view and a cross-sectional viewof a portion of a semiconductor device, according to some embodiments,in an intermediate step of fabrication according to an embodiment of themethod of FIGS. 1A and 1B.

FIG. 2C illustrates a perspective view of a portion of the semiconductordevice in FIG. 2A, according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 2D and 2E illustrate cross-sectional views of a portion of thesemiconductor device in FIG. 2C along the A-A line and the B-B line inFIG. 2C, respectively, according to an embodiment.

FIGS. 2D-1 and 2E-1 illustrate cross-sectional views of a portion of thesemiconductor device in FIG. 2C along the A-A line and the B-B line inFIG. 2C, respectively, according to another embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a portion of thesemiconductor device of FIG. 2A in an intermediate step of fabricationaccording to an embodiment of the method of FIGS. 1A and 1B.

FIGS. 4, 5A, 6A, 7A, 8A, 9A, 10A, and 11A illustrate perspective viewsof a portion of a semiconductor device, according to some embodiments,in intermediate steps of fabrication according to an embodiment of themethod of FIGS. 1A and 1B.

FIGS. 5B, 6B, 7B, 8B, 9B, 10B, 11B, and 11B-1 illustrate cross-sectionalviews of a portion of a semiconductor device along the Cut-1 line inFIGS. 5A, 6A, 7A, 8A, 9A, 10A, and 11A respectively, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 10C illustrates a cross-sectional view of a portion of asemiconductor device along the Cut-2 line in FIG. 10A, according to someembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following disclosure provides many different embodiments, orexamples, for implementing different features of the provided subjectmatter. Specific examples of components and arrangements are describedbelow to simplify the present disclosure. These are, of course, merelyexamples and are not intended to be limiting. For example, the formationof a first feature over or on a second feature in the description thatfollows may include embodiments in which the first and second featuresare formed in direct contact, and may also include embodiments in whichadditional features may be formed between the first and second features,such that the first and second features may not be in direct contact. Inaddition, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/orletters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose ofsimplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationshipbetween the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed.

Further, spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “lower,”“above,” “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease ofdescription to describe one element or feature's relationship to anotherelement(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. The spatiallyrelative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of thedevice in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted inthe figures. The apparatus may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degreesor at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors usedherein may likewise be interpreted accordingly. Still further, when anumber or a range of numbers is described with “about,” “approximate,”and the like, the term encompasses numbers that are within certainvariations (such as +/−10% or other variations) of the number described,in accordance with the knowledge of the skilled in the art in view ofthe specific technology disclosed herein, unless otherwise specified.For example, the term “about 5 nm” may encompass the dimension rangefrom 4.5 nm to 5.5 nm, 4.0 nm to 5.0 nm, etc.

The present disclosure generally relates to a semiconductor fabricationprocess and the structure thereof. More particularly, the presentdisclosure relates to fabricating dielectric layer(s) and metal layer(s)on a backside of a structure (such as a wafer) where devices (such astransistors) have been fabricated on a frontside of the structure. Assemiconductor technology progresses to smaller geometries, it isdesirable to move some of the connectivity layers to the backside of awafer, such as power rails connecting to transistors' source and/ordrain (source/drain) features. This will free up some area at thefrontside of the wafer and further increase the device integration. Thisalso presents new challenges. One of the challenges is how to deal withthe stray capacitance (or coupling capacitance) between the conductorson the backside, such as metal plugs that reach into the source/drainfeatures from the backside. The small distance between those conductorscould mean large stray capacitance if not dealt with properly. Accordingto some embodiments of the present disclosure, the backside dielectriclayer(s) are provided with air gaps for reducing stray capacitance andincreasing isolation between conductors. These and other aspects of thepresent disclosure are further described by referring to the accompaniedfigures.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are a flow chart of a method 10 for fabricating asemiconductor device according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure. Additional processing is contemplated by the presentdisclosure. Additional operations can be provided before, during, andafter method 10, and some of the operations described can be moved,replaced, or eliminated for additional embodiments of method 10.

Method 10 is described below in conjunction with FIG. 2A through FIG.11B-1 that illustrate various perspective and cross-sectional views of asemiconductor device (or a semiconductor structure) 100 at various stepsof fabrication according to the method 10, in accordance with someembodiments. In some embodiments, the device 100 is a portion of an ICchip, a system on chip (SoC), or portion thereof, that includes variouspassive and active microelectronic devices such as resistors,capacitors, inductors, diodes, p-type field effect transistors (PFETs),n-type field effect transistors (NFETs), FinFET, nanosheet FETs,nanowire FETs, other types of multi-gate FETs, metal-oxide semiconductorfield effect transistors (MOSFETs), complementary metal-oxidesemiconductor (CMOS) transistors, bipolar junction transistors (BJTs),laterally diffused MOS (LDMOS) transistors, high voltage transistors,high frequency transistors, memory devices, other suitable components,or combinations thereof. FIGS. 2A through 11B-1 have been simplified forthe sake of clarity to better understand the inventive concepts of thepresent disclosure. Additional features can be added in the device 100,and some of the features described below can be replaced, modified, oreliminated in other embodiments of the device 100.

At operation 12, the method 10 (FIG. 1A) provides a structure (or aworkpiece) of the device 100, an embodiment of which is illustrated inFIGS. 2A and 2B. Particularly, FIG. 2A illustrates a perspective view ofa portion of the device 100 and FIG. 2B illustrates a cross-sectionalview of a portion of the device 100, according to an embodiment. Thedevice 100 includes a substrate 102, a device layer 152 over thesubstrate 102, and an interconnect structure (or a multilayerinterconnect) 162 over the device layer 152. The device 100 may includeother layers or features not shown in FIG. 2A, such as a passivationlayer over the interconnect structure 162. The substrate 102 is at abackside of the device 100, and the interconnect structure 162 is at afrontside of device 100. In other words, the substrate 102, the devicelayer 152, and the interconnect structure 162 are disposed one overanother from the backside to the frontside of the device 100.

The substrate 102 is a bulk silicon (Si) substrate in the presentembodiment, such as a silicon wafer. In alternative embodiments, thesubstrate 102 includes other elementary semiconductors such as germanium(Ge); a compound semiconductor such as silicon carbide (SiC), galliumarsenide (GaAs), indium arsenide (InAs), and indium phosphide (InP); oran alloy semiconductor, such as silicon germanium (SiGe), silicongermanium carbide (SiGeC), gallium arsenic phosphide (GaAsP), andgallium indium phosphide (GaInP). In some embodiments, the substrate 102may include silicon on insulator (SOI) substrate, be strained and/orstressed for performance enhancement, include epitaxial regions, dopedregions, and/or include other suitable features and layers.

The device layer 152 includes semiconductor active regions (such assemiconductor fins), and various active devices (e.g., transistors)built in or on the semiconductor active regions. The device layer 152may also include passive devices such as capacitors, resistors, andinductors. The device layer 152 further includes local interconnects,isolation structures, and other structures. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 2B, the device layer 152 includes semiconductor fins (or fins) 103that extend upwardly from the substrate 102, epitaxial features 104 overthe semiconductor fins 103, and dielectric isolation features 154between the semiconductor active regions. The epitaxial features 104 maybe source or drain (S/D) electrodes of transistors. Thus, they are alsoreferred to as S/D features 104. The semiconductor fins 103 may includesilicon or other suitable semiconductor materials such as silicongermanium. The device layer 152 also includes conductors 156 and 158(such as local interconnects, vias, and/or plugs) that provideconnectivity to the S/D electrodes of the transistors, as well as gateelectrodes though not shown in this figure. Some of the conductors 158are connected to the interconnect structure 162. The conductors 156 and158 may comprise copper, tungsten, ruthenium, cobalt, or other suitablematerials.

The interconnect structure 162 is over the device layer 152 and includesconductors 166 (such as metal lines or metal wires and vias) embedded inone or more dielectric layers 164. The conductors 166 provideconnectivity to the devices in the device layer 152. The conductors 166may also provide power rails and ground planes for the device 100. Theconductors 166 may comprise copper, aluminum, or other suitablematerials, and may be formed using single damascene process, dualdamascene process, or other suitable processes. The dielectric layers164 may comprise silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, silicon nitridewith oxygen (O) or carbon (C) elements, tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS)oxide, un-doped silicate glass, or doped silicon oxide such asborophosphosilicate glass (BPSG), fluorosilicate glass (FSG),phosphosilicate glass (PSG), boron doped silicon glass (BSG), and/orother suitable dielectric materials.

FIG. 2C illustrates a perspective view of a portion of the device 100according to an embodiment, which includes a semiconductor fin 103 and agate stack 118. The fin 103 is oriented lengthwise generally along the“x” direction, and the gate stack 118 is oriented lengthwise generallyalong the “y” direction perpendicular to the “x” direction. FIG. 2Dillustrates a cross-sectional view of a portion of the device 100 alongthe A-A line in FIG. 2C according to an embodiment which is cut parallelto and through the fin 103. FIG. 2E illustrates a cross-sectional viewof a portion of the device 100 along the B-B line in FIG. 2C accordingto an embodiment, which is cut parallel to and through the gate 118. Thetransistor illustrated in the embodiment of FIGS. 2D and 2E is a FinFET101 a. FIGS. 2D-1 and 2E-1 illustrate cross-sectional views of a portionof the device 100 along the A-A line and the B-B line in FIG. 2C,respectively, according to another embodiment, where the transistor is agate-all-around (GAA) FET 101 b. The device 100 may include any numberof fins 103, any number of gate stacks 106, any number of FinFETs and/orGAA FETs, and other types of devices, in various embodiments.

Referring to FIGS. 2C-2E collectively, the device 100 includes thesubstrate 102, over which the fin 103 and the gate stack 118 are formed.The device 100 includes an isolation structure 105 (which is part of theisolation structure 154 in FIG. 2B) for isolating the fin 103 from otheractive regions or fins. The fin 103 extends from the substrate 102 andabove the isolation structure 105. The gate stack 118 is disposed abovethe isolation structure 105 and on three sides of the fin 103. Thedevice 100 further includes gate spacers 108 on sidewalls of the gatestack 118. The epitaxial S/D features 104 are disposed on top of the fin103 and on both sides of the gate stack 118.

The fin 103 may include one or more layers of semiconductor materialssuch as silicon or silicon germanium. The fin 103 may be patterned byany suitable method. For example, the fin 103 may be patterned using oneor more photolithography processes, including double-patterning ormulti-patterning processes. Generally, double-patterning ormulti-patterning processes combine photolithography and self-alignedprocesses, allowing patterns to be created that have, for example,pitches smaller than what is otherwise obtainable using a single, directphotolithography process. For example, in one embodiment, a sacrificiallayer is formed over a substrate and patterned using a photolithographyprocess. Spacers are formed alongside the patterned sacrificial layerusing a self-aligned process. The sacrificial layer is then removed, andthe remaining spacers, or mandrels, may then be used as a maskingelement for patterning the fin 103. For example, the masking element maybe used for etching recesses into semiconductor layers over or in thesubstrate 102, leaving the fin 103 on the substrate 102. The etchingprocess may include dry etching, wet etching, reactive ion etching(RIE), and/or other suitable processes. For example, a dry etchingprocess may implement an oxygen-containing gas, a fluorine-containinggas (e.g., CF₄, SF₆, CH₂F₂, CHF₃, and/or C₂F₆), a chlorine-containinggas (e.g., Cl₂, CHCl₃, CCl₄, and/or BCl₃), a bromine-containing gas(e.g., HBr and/or CHBr₃), an iodine-containing gas, other suitable gasesand/or plasmas, and/or combinations thereof. For example, a wet etchingprocess may comprise etching in diluted hydrofluoric acid (DHF);potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution; ammonia; a solution containinghydrofluoric acid (HF), nitric acid (HNO₃), and/or acetic acid(CH₃COOH); or other suitable wet etchant. Numerous other embodiments ofmethods to form the fin 103 may be suitable.

The S/D features 104 include epitaxially grown semiconductor materialssuch as epitaxially grown silicon, germanium, or silicon germanium. TheS/D features 104 can be formed by any epitaxy processes includingchemical vapor deposition (CVD) techniques (for example, vapor phaseepitaxy and/or Ultra-High Vacuum CVD), molecular beam epitaxy, othersuitable epitaxial growth processes, or combinations thereof. The S/Dfeatures 104 may be doped with n-type dopants and/or p-type dopants. Insome embodiments, for n-type transistors, the S/D features 104 includesilicon and can be doped with carbon, phosphorous, arsenic, other n-typedopant, or combinations thereof (for example, forming Si:C epitaxial S/Dfeatures, Si:P epitaxial S/D features, or Si:C:P epitaxial S/Dfeatures). In some embodiments, for p-type transistors, the S/D features104 include silicon germanium or germanium, and can be doped with boron,other p-type dopant, or combinations thereof (for example, formingSi:Ge:B epitaxial S/D features). The S/D features 104 may includemultiple epitaxial semiconductor layers having different levels ofdopant density. In some embodiments, annealing processes (e.g., rapidthermal annealing (RTA) and/or laser annealing) are performed toactivate dopants in the epitaxial S/D features 104.

The isolation structure 105 may include silicon oxide (SiO₂), siliconnitride (Si₃N₄), silicon oxynitride (SiON), fluoride-doped silicateglass (FSG), a low-k dielectric material, and/or other suitableinsulating material. In an embodiment, the isolation structure 105 isformed by etching trenches in or over the substrate 102 (e.g., as partof the process of forming the fins 103), filling the trenches with aninsulating material, and performing a chemical mechanical planarization(CMP) process and/or an etching back process to the insulating material,leaving the remaining insulating material as the isolation structure105. Other types of isolation structure may also be suitable, such asfield oxide and LOCal Oxidation of Silicon (LOCOS). The isolationstructure 105 may include a multi-layer structure, for example, havingone or more liner layers (e.g., silicon nitride) on surfaces of thesubstrate 102 and the fin 103 and a main isolating layer (e.g., silicondioxide) over the one or more liner layers.

In the present embodiment, the gate stack 118 includes a gate dielectriclayer 120 and a gate electrode layer 122 over the gate dielectric layer120. The gate dielectric layer 120 may include a high-k dielectricmaterial such as HfO₂, HfSiO, HfSiO₄, HfSiON, HfLaO, HfTaO, HfTiO,HfZrO, HfAlO_(x), ZrO, ZrO₂, ZrSiO₂, AlO, AlSiO, Al₂O₃, TiO, TiO₂, LaO,LaSiO, Ta₂O₃, Ta₂O₅, Y₂O₃, SrTiO₃, BaZrO, BaTiO₃ (BTO), (Ba,Sr)TiO₃(BST), Si₃N₄, hafnium dioxide-alumina (HfO₂—Al₂O₃) alloy, other suitablehigh-k dielectric material, or combinations thereof. High-k dielectricmaterial generally refers to dielectric materials having a highdielectric constant, for example, greater than that of silicon oxide(k≈3.9). The gate dielectric layer 120 may be formed by chemicaloxidation, thermal oxidation, atomic layer deposition (ALD), chemicalvapor deposition (CVD), and/or other suitable methods. In the presentembodiment, the gate stack 118 further includes an interfacial layer 106between the gate dielectric layer 120 and the fin 103. The interfaciallayer 106 may include silicon dioxide, silicon oxynitride, or othersuitable materials. In some embodiments, the gate electrode layer 122includes an n-type or a p-type work function layer and a metal filllayer. For example, an n-type work function layer may comprise a metalwith sufficiently low effective work function such as titanium,aluminum, tantalum carbide, tantalum carbide nitride, tantalum siliconnitride, or combinations thereof. For example, a p-type work functionlayer may comprise a metal with a sufficiently large effective workfunction, such as titanium nitride, tantalum nitride, ruthenium,molybdenum, tungsten, platinum, or combinations thereof. For example, ametal fill layer may include aluminum, tungsten, cobalt, copper, and/orother suitable materials. The gate electrode layer 122 may be formed byCVD, PVD, plating, and/or other suitable processes. Since the gate stack118 includes a high-k dielectric layer and metal layer(s), it is alsoreferred to as a high-k metal gate.

Each of the gate spacers 108 may be a single layer or multi-layerstructure. In some embodiments, the spacers 108 include a dielectricmaterial, such as silicon oxide (SiO₂), silicon nitride (Si₃N₄), siliconoxynitride (SiON), other dielectric material, or combination thereof. Inan example, the spacers 108 are formed by deposition and etching (e.g.,anisotropic etching) processes. In some embodiment, the gate spacers 108include La₂O₃, Al₂O₃, SiOCN, SiOC, SiCN, SiO₂, SiC, ZnO, ZrN, Zr₂Al₃O₉,TiO₂, TaO₂, ZrO₂, HfO₂, Si₃N₄, Y₂O₃, AlON, TaCN, ZrSi, or other suitablematerial(s).

In the present embodiment, the device 100 further includes a gate cap124 over the gate stack 118. The gate cap 124 may include a materialsuch as La₂O₃, Al₂O₃, SiOCN, SiOC, SiCN, SiO₂, SiC, ZnO, ZrN, Zr₂Al₃O₉,TiO₂, TaO₂, ZrO₂, HfO₂, Si₃N₄, Y₂O₃, AlON, TaCN, ZrSi, or othermaterial(s). The gate cap 124 may be formed by recessing the gate stack118 between the opposing gate spacers 108; depositing one or morematerials over the recessed gate stack 118; and performing a CMP processto the one or more materials. The gate cap 124 may be deposited byatomic layer deposition (ALD), CVD, and/or other suitable methods.

The device 100 further includes a contact etch stop layer (CESL 114) andan inter-layer dielectric (ILD) layer 116, which are part of theisolation structure 154 in FIG. 2B. The CESL 114 is disposed oversidewalls of the spacers 108 and the S/D features 104. The ILD layer 116is disposed over the CESL 114. The CESL 114 may include La₂O₃, Al₂O₃,SiOCN, SiOC, SiCN, SiO₂, SiC, ZnO, ZrN, Zr₂Al₃O₉, TiO₂, TaO₂, ZrO₂,HfO₂, Si₃N₄, Y₂O₃, AlON, TaCN, ZrSi, or other suitable material(s); andmay be formed by CVD, PVD, ALD, or other suitable methods. The ILD layer116 may comprise tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) oxide, un-doped silicateglass, or doped silicon oxide such as borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG),fluoride-doped silica glass (FSG), phosphosilicate glass (PSG), borondoped silicon glass (BSG), and/or other suitable dielectric materials.The ILD 116 may be formed by PECVD (plasma enhanced CVD), FCVD (flowableCVD), or other suitable methods.

In some embodiment such as shown in FIGS. 2D-1 and 2E-1, the device 100includes gate-all-around transistors such as nanosheet FETs or nanowireFETs. Most of the features in FIGS. 2D-1 and 2E-1 are the same as orsimilar to those in FIGS. 2D and 2E with like reference numeralsdenoting like features among the figures. Referring to FIGS. 2D-1 and2E-1, in this embodiment, the device 100 further includes multiplelayers 103 a of semiconductor materials (such as silicon) that arevertically stacked over the substrate 102 (along the “z” direction) andhorizontally connect the S/D features 104. The layers 103 a are channellayers of the transistor and may be considered as part of the fin 103.The layers 103 a may be in the shape of rods, bars, sheets, or othershapes in various embodiments. Portions of the gate stack 118 wraparound each of the multiple layers 103 a. The device 100 furtherincludes inner spacers 108 a horizontally between the S/D features 104and the portions of the gate stack 118 and vertically between the layers103 a. In some embodiment, the inner spacers 108 a include La₂O₃, Al₂O₃,SiOCN, SiOC, SiCN, SiO₂, SiC, ZnO, ZrN, Zr₂Al₃O₉, TiO₂, TaO₂, ZrO₂,HfO₂, Si₃N₄, Y₂O₃, AlON, TaCN, ZrSi, or other suitable material(s).

At operation 14, the method 10 (FIG. 1A) attaching the frontside of thedevice 100 to a carrier substrate 220, such as shown in FIG. 3. Thismakes the device 100 accessible from the backside of the device 100 forfurther processing. The operation 14 may use any suitable attachingprocesses, such as direct bonding, hybrid bonding, using adhesive, orother bonding methods. The operation 14 may further include alignment,annealing, and/or other processes. The carrier substrate 220 may be asilicon wafer in some embodiment. In FIG. 3 (as well as in other figuresto be described below), the “z” direction points from the backside ofthe device 100 to the frontside of the device 100, while the “−z”direction points from the frontside of the device 100 to the backside ofthe device 100.

At operation 16, the method 10 (FIG. 1A) thins down the device 100 fromthe backside of the device 100. The thinning process may include amechanical grinding process and/or a chemical thinning process. Asubstantial amount of substrate material may be first removed from thesubstrate 102 during a mechanical grinding process. Afterwards, achemical thinning process may apply an etching chemical to the backsideof the substrate 102 to further thin down the substrate 102. In thepresent embodiment, the device 100 is thinned down until the activeregions (such as the fins 103) and the isolation structure 105 areexposed from the backside of the device 100, such as shown in FIG. 4.For the purposes of simplicity, FIG. 4 does not show all components ofthe device 100.

At operation 18, the method 10 (FIG. 1A) etches holes 168 through theactive regions (such as the fins 103) to reach some of the S/D features104 from the backside of the device 100. An example of the device 100with the holes 168 is shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B where FIG. 5B is across-sectional view of the device 100 along the Cut-1 line in FIG. 5A.The Cut-1 line may be the same as the A-A line in FIG. 2C. In anembodiment, the operation 18 may include a variety of processes such asdeposition, photolithography, and etching. For example, the operation 18may form a resist layer over the backside of the device 100 (e.g., byspin coating), perform a pre-exposure baking process, expose the resistusing a photomask, perform a post-exposure baking process, and developthe exposed resist layer in a developer solution. After development, thepatterned resist layer (or resist pattern) provides openingscorresponding to the holes 168. Alternatively, the exposure process canbe implemented or replaced by other methods, such as masklesslithography, e-beam writing, ion-beam writing, or combinations thereof.Subsequently, the device 100 is etched through the openings in theresist pattern to form the holes 168. Thereafter, the resist pattern isremoved, for example, by stripping. The holes 168 may expose sourcefeatures, drain features, and/or other features of various transistorsand active regions. For example, two adjacent holes 168 may expose asource feature and a drain feature of the same transistor or may exposea source or drain feature of one transistor and another source or drainfeature of another transistor. Through the holes 168, a connectivitynetwork may be built on the backside of the device 100 and providespower and/or signal lines to the transistors already formed in thefrontside of the device 100.

At operation 20, the method 10 (FIG. 1A) forms silicide features 169 inthe holes 168 and over the S/D features 104, and form conductors (ormetal plugs) 170 in the holes 168 and over the silicide features 169,such as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, where FIG. 6B is a cross-sectionalview of the device 100 along the Cut-1 line in FIG. 6A. In anembodiment, the operation 20 includes depositing one or more metals intothe holes 168, performing an annealing process to the device 100 tocause reaction between the one or more metals and the S/D features 104to produce the silicide features 169, and removing un-reacted portionsof the one or more metals, leaving the silicide features 169 exposed inthe holes 168. The one or more metals may include titanium (Ti),tantalum (Ta), tungsten (W), nickel (Ni), platinum (Pt), ytterbium (Yb),iridium (Ir), erbium (Er), cobalt (Co), or a combination thereof (e.g.,an alloy of two or more metals) and may be deposited using CVD, PVD,ALD, or other suitable methods. The silicide features 169 may includetitanium silicide (TiSi), nickel silicide (NiSi), tungsten silicide(WSi), nickel-platinum silicide (NiPtSi), nickel-platinum-germaniumsilicide (NiPtGeSi), nickel-germanium silicide (NiGeSi), ytterbiumsilicide (YbSi), platinum silicide (PtSi), iridium silicide (IrSi),erbium silicide (ErSi), cobalt silicide (CoSi), or other suitablecompounds. In an embodiment, the plugs 170 may include a conductivebarrier layer on bottom and sidewalls of the holes 168 and a metal filllayer over the conductive barrier layer. The conductive barrier layerfunctions to prevent metal materials of the metal fill layer fromdiffusing into a dielectric layer that is to be formed adjacent theplugs 170. The conductive barrier layer may include titanium (Ti),tantalum (Ta), tungsten (W), cobalt (Co), ruthenium (Ru), or aconductive nitride such as titanium nitride (TiN), titanium aluminumnitride (TiAlN), tungsten nitride (WN), tantalum nitride (TaN), orcombinations thereof, and may be formed by CVD, PVD, ALD, and/or othersuitable processes. The metal fill layer may include tungsten (W),cobalt (Co), molybdenum (Mo), ruthenium (Ru), aluminum (Al), or othermetals, and may be formed by CVD, PVD, ALD, plating, or other suitableprocesses. In some embodiments, the conductive barrier layer is omittedin the plugs 170. The operation 20 may perform a CMP process to removeexcessive materials of the plugs 170 and to expose the active regions(the fins 103 in this example) from the backside of the device 100again.

At operation 22, the method 10 (FIG. 1A) etch the active regions 103(the fins 103) between the plugs 170 to form trenches 172, such as shownin FIGS. 7A and 7B, where FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view of thedevice 100 along the Cut-1 line in FIG. 7A. In an embodiment, theoperation 22 may etch the active regions 103 using a self-alignedetching process without using an etch mask. For example, the operation22 may perform an etching process that is tuned selective to thematerials of the active regions 103 with no (or minimal) etching to theplugs 170 and the isolation structure 105. In an embodiment, the activeregions 103 include an anti-punch-through (APT) layer (not shown) thatis above the channel layer (in the “−z” direction), and the operation 22may partially or completely removes the APT layer. The trenches 172extend to a depth h2 from the backside of the device 100, where h2 isequal to or greater than a height h1 of the plugs 170 in someembodiments. In some embodiments, the depth h2 is equal to or greaterthan the height h1 of the plugs 170 and a thickness of the silicidefeatures 169 combined. As shown in FIG. 7A, the isolation structure 105and the plugs 170 form all or part of the sidewalls of the trenches 172,while the S/D features 104 and the active regions 103 form the bottom ofthe trenches 172.

At operation 24, the method 10 (FIG. 1B) treats the surfaces of thetrenches 172, for example, with a chemical gas, a solution, or a plasma.The treatment pre-conditions the surfaces of the trenches 172 so as tomore easily obtain an over-hang profile in a dielectric liner 174 formedin operation 26, to be discussed below. For example, the operation 24may treat the surfaces of the trenches 172 with a plasma having atoms orions of nitrogen, fluorine, chlorine, oxygen, hydrogen, and/or argon.For example, the plasma may be generated using NF₃, hydrogen-containingfluorocarbon (CH_(X)F_(y)) such as CH₃F, HCl, CO₂, O₂, H₂, and/or Ar. Asa result, some of the F, C, Cl, O, Si, and N atoms may be found on thesurfaces of the trenches 172. The operation 24 is optional and may beomitted in some embodiments of the method 10.

At operation 26, the method 10 (FIG. 1B) deposits a dielectric liner 174over the isolation structure 105, the plugs 170, and inside the trenches172, such as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, where FIG. 8B is across-sectional view of the device 100 along the Cut-1 line in FIG. 8A.Particularly, the dielectric liner 174 is formed to have an over-hangprofile. In other words, the thickness of the dielectric liner 174 isgreater at the opening of the trenches 172 that is proximal the backsideof the device 100 than inside the trench 172 that is distal the backsideof the device 100. As a result, the opening of the trenches 172 may beclosed off (or nearly closed off) by the dielectric liner 174.Furthermore, the dielectric liner 174 is deposited on the bottom andsidewalls of the trenches 172 and does not fully fill the trenches 172.An air gap (or a void or an air pocket) 176 is formed inside each of thetrenches 172. The air gap 176 may be fully enclosed (or fully sealed) bythe dielectric liner 174 alone in some embodiment or may be partiallyenclosed (or partially sealed) by the dielectric liner 174. In variousembodiments, the dielectric liner 174 may include a low-k dielectricmaterial having Si, O, N, and C, or other porous low dielectric constantmaterials. The dielectric liner 174 may be configured to have a singlelayer or multiple layers.

In an embodiment, the dielectric liner 174 is deposited using a chemicalvapor deposition process, such as a plasma enhanced chemical vapordeposition (PECVD) process. For example, the PECVD process may applyplasma generated from SiH₄ gas, N₂ gas, NH₃ gas, and/or other gases,which deposit the dielectric liner 174. Various parameters of the PECVDprocess may be tuned to create the over-hang profile in the dielectricliner 174. For example, the composition of the deposition gases, theratio among the deposition gases, the process pressure, the processtemperature, the AC or DC power, or other parameters of the PECVDprocess may be tuned. In an example, the ratio of SiH₄ gas to the N₂ orNH₃ gas may be tuned in the range of about 5 to about 200, the processpressure may be tuned in the range of about 300 mT to about 800 mT, andthe process temperature may be tuned in the range of about 200° C. toabout 400° C., such as about 300° C. to about 400° C. The range of theprocess temperature is selected high enough to deposit the dielectricliner 174, yet low enough to protect various features at the frontsideof the device 100 such as the metal components in the device 100.

At operation 28, the method 10 (FIG. 1B) deposits a dielectric layer 178over the dielectric liner 174, such as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, whereFIG. 9B is a cross-sectional view of the device 100 along the Cut-1 linein FIG. 9A. The dielectric layer 178 will be removed in a later step.Thus, it is also referred to as a sacrificial dielectric layer 178. Asshown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, a portion of the dielectric liner 174 isdeposited on top of the isolation structure 105 and the plugs 170. It isdesirable to remove this portion of the dielectric liner 174 using a CMPprocess in the present embodiment. However, this portion of thedielectric liner 174 may be too thin to be suitable for a CMP process.For this reason, the dielectric layer 178 is deposited to increase thetotal thickness of the layers subject to a CMP process. The dielectriclayer 178 may comprise tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) oxide, un-dopedsilicate glass, or doped silicon oxide such as borophosphosilicate glass(BPSG), fluoride-doped silica glass (FSG), phosphosilicate glass (PSG),boron doped silicon glass (BSG), and/or other suitable dielectricmaterials. The dielectric layer 178 may be formed by PECVD, or othersuitable methods. Particularly, the dielectric layer 178 does not fillin the air gap 176 (except the very top portion of the air gap 176 if itnot fully sealed by the dielectric liner 174) due to the over-hangprofile of the dielectric liner 174.

At operation 30, the method 10 (FIG. 1B) performs a CMP process tocompletely remove the dielectric layer 178 and the portion of thedielectric liner 174 that is deposited on top of the isolation structure105 and the plugs 170. As a result, the isolation structure 105 and theplugs 170 are exposed, such as shown in FIGS. 10A, 10B, and 10C, whereFIGS. 10B and 10C are cross-sectional views of the device 100 along theCut-1 line and the Cut-2 line in FIG. 10A respectively. In anembodiment, the CMP process may use the plugs 170 and/or the isolationstructure 105 for CMP end-point detection. FIGS. 10B and 10C alsoillustrate various dimensions of the dielectric liner 174, the plugs170, and the air gap 176.

Referring to FIGS. 10B and 10C, in some embodiments, the plugs 170 mayhave a height h1 in a range of about 5 nm to about 50 nm, a length w1 ina range of about 5 nm to about 500 nm, a width w6 (which is also thewidth of the trench 168 in FIG. 5A) in a range of about 5 nm to about500 nm. The distance d3 between two adjacent plugs 170 may be in a rangeof about 10 nm to about 500 nm in some embodiments. As discussedearlier, the height h2 of the trench 168 is equal to or greater than theheight h1 of the plugs 170. Also, the distance d3 is greater than thewidth of the active region 103. This ensures that the plugs 170 areisolated from the active region 103 by the dielectric liner 174 and theair gap 176.

Referring to FIG. 10B, in various embodiments, the dielectric liner 174may have a thickness t1 (at the top surface of the dielectric liner 174)that is less than 10 nm, such as in a range of about 0.5 nm to about 10nm. In various embodiments, the dielectric liner 174 may have athickness t2 (in the middle or bottom portion of the dielectric liner174) that is less than 10 nm, such as in a range of about 0.5 nm toabout 10 nm. Further, the thickness t2 is less than t1 in the presentembodiment. The thicknesses t1 and t2 are measured along the “x”direction. Still further, the dielectric liner 174 may have a thicknesst3 (in the bottom portion of the dielectric liner 174, measured alongthe “z” direction) that is less than 10 nm, such as in a range of about0.5 nm to about 10 nm.

Referring to FIG. 10C, in various embodiments, the dielectric liner 174may have a thickness t4 (at the top surface of the dielectric liner 174)that is less than 10 nm, such as in a range of about 0.5 nm to about 10nm. In various embodiments, the dielectric liner 174 may have athickness t5 (in the middle or bottom portion of the dielectric liner174) that is less than 10 nm, such as in a range of about 0.5 nm toabout 10 nm. Further, the thickness t5 is less than t4 in the presentembodiment. The thicknesses t4 and t5 are measured along the “y”direction.

In the above discussion, the upper limit in the thicknesses t1, t2, t3,t4, and t5 (e.g., about 10 nm) is selected so that there is enough roomleft for the air gap 176 in the trench 172. Because air has a lowerdielectric constant than the material of the dielectric liner 174,having a larger air gap 176 beneficially reduces the stray capacitancebetween the plugs 170. The dielectric liner 174 can be made as thin aspossible, depending on the deposition technology, yet still thick enoughto produce the over-hang profile as discussed earlier.

Referring to FIGS. 10B and 10C, the air gap 176 has a top opening widthw3 along the “x” direction and a top opening width w5 along the “y”direction. In some embodiments, each of the w3 and w5 may be in a rangeof 0 nm (i.e., the air gap 176 is fully enclosed by the dielectric liner174 alone) to about 500 nm (for example, the CMP process in theoperation 30 may expose a wide opening of the air gap 176). Further, theair gap 176 has a width w4 along the “x” direction and a width w7 alongthe “y” direction in the belly portion of the air gap 176. In thepresent embodiment, w3 is less than w4, and w5 is less than w7.

At operation 32, the method 10 (FIG. 1B) performs further fabricationsto the backside of the device 100. For example, it may form aninterconnect structure 190 over the isolation structure 105, the plugs170, the dielectric liner 174, and the air gap 176. An example is shownin FIGS. 11A and 11B, where FIG. 11B is a cross-sectional view of thedevice 100 along the Cut-1 line in FIG. 11A. Referring to FIGS. 11A and11B, the interconnect structure 190 includes conductors (such as metallines and via) 194 embedded in one or more dielectric layers 192. Theconfiguration of the interconnect structure 190 may be similar to thatof the interconnect structure 162 (FIG. 2B). Particularly, thecomposition and formation of the conductors 194 and the dielectriclayers 192 may be the same as those of the conductors 166 and thedielectric layers 164, respectively. In embodiments where the air gaps176 are not fully sealed by the dielectric liner 174, they are fullysealed by the dielectric liner 174 and the dielectric layers 192collectively. Further, structures similar to the dielectric liner 174and the air gap 176 may be formed in the interconnect structure 190,such as between some of the conductors 194. FIG. 11B-1 illustrates anembodiment of the device 100 with GAA FETs after the device 100 hasundergone the operations 14 through 32. As illustrated, the dielectricliner 174 and the air gap 176 are disposed over the active region 103and the channel layers 103 a. Other aspects of FIG. 11B-1 are the sameas those in FIG. 11B. After the backside of the device 100 has beenprocessed, the method 10 may remove the carrier substrate 220 (FIG. 3).

Although not intended to be limiting, embodiments of the presentdisclosure provide one or more of the following advantages. For example,embodiments of the present disclosure form a dielectric liner with anair gap at the backside of a wafer. The dielectric liner and the air gapeffectively reduce the stray capacitance between adjacent conductors andincrease the isolation thereof. Also, the air gap can also reduce oreliminate metal leakage to and from the conductors, thereby increasinglong-term reliability of the device. Embodiments of the presentdisclosure can be readily integrated into existing semiconductormanufacturing processes.

In one example aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a methodthat includes providing a structure having transistors, an isolationstructure that is at least partially over the transistors, two metalplugs through the isolation structure and electrically connecting toelectrodes of the transistors, and a trench, wherein the isolationstructure and the two metal plugs form sidewalls of the trench. Themethod further includes forming a dielectric liner on the sidewalls ofthe trench and over the isolation structure and the metal plugs, whereinthe dielectric liner is thicker at an opening portion of the trench thanat another portion of the trench that is deeper than the opening portionso that an air gap is formed inside the trench and the air gap is fullyor partially surrounded by the dielectric liner. The method furtherincludes depositing a sacrificial dielectric layer over the dielectricliner and over the air gap and performing a chemical-mechanicalplanarization (CMP) process to remove the sacrificial dielectric layerand to recess the dielectric liner until the isolation structure and themetal plugs are exposed, wherein the air gap remains inside the trench.

In some embodiments, the method further includes forming a dielectriclayer over the isolation structure, the dielectric liner, the air gap,and the metal plugs, wherein the air gap is sealed by the dielectricliner alone or by both the dielectric liner and the dielectric layer;and forming conductors in the dielectric layer, wherein the conductorsare electrically connected to the metal plugs.

In some embodiments of the method, the forming of the dielectric linerincludes using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Infurther embodiments, the PECVD includes applying plasma generated fromSiH₄ gas and N₂ or NH₃ gas.

In some embodiments, before the forming of the dielectric liner, themethod further includes treating the sidewalls of the trench with aplasma having atoms of nitrogen, fluorine, chlorine, oxygen, hydrogen,or argon.

In some embodiments of the method, the providing of the structureincludes receiving a workpiece having a substrate with active regions,wherein the isolation structure isolates the active regions, and thetransistors are formed over the active regions, the workpiece furtherhaving an interconnect structure over the transistors, wherein thesubstrate is at a backside of the workpiece and the interconnectstructure is at a frontside of the workpiece. The providing of thestructure further includes attaching the frontside of the workpiece to acarrier wafer; thinning the workpiece from the backside of the workpieceuntil the isolation structure and the active regions are exposed fromthe backside of the workpiece; etching two holes through the activeregions to expose the electrodes of the transistors from the backside ofthe workpiece; forming the two metal plugs in the two holesrespectively; and etching the active regions between the two metal plugsfrom the backside of the workpiece, thereby forming the trench. In afurther embodiment, the transistors include FinFETs and the activeregions include semiconductor fins. In another further embodiment, thetransistors include gate-all-around FETs and the active regions includesemiconductor fins.

In some embodiments of the method, the trench is as deep as or deeperthan the metal plugs.

In another example aspect, the present disclosure is directed to amethod that includes providing a structure having a silicon substrate,an isolation structure over the silicon substrate, one or moresemiconductor fins extending from the silicon substrate and over theisolation structure, one or more transistors formed over the one or moresemiconductor fins, and an interconnect structure over the one or moretransistors, wherein the silicon substrate is at a backside of thestructure and the interconnect structure is at a frontside of thestructure. The method further includes attaching the frontside of thestructure to a carrier substrate; thinning the structure from thebackside of the structure until the isolation structure and the one ormore semiconductor fins are exposed from the backside of the structure;etching two holes through the one or more semiconductor fins to exposetwo source/drain features of the one or more transistors from thebackside of the structure; forming two metal plugs in the two holesrespectively; etching the one or more semiconductor fins between the twometal plugs from the backside of the structure, thereby forming atrench; and forming a dielectric liner on sidewalls of the trench andover the isolation structure and the metal plugs, wherein the dielectricliner is thicker at an opening portion of the trench than at anotherportion of the trench that is deeper than the opening portion so that anair gap is formed inside the trench.

In some embodiments of the method, the trench is as deep as or deeperthan the metal plugs from the backside of the structure. In someembodiments, the air gap is fully surrounded by the dielectric lineralone.

In some embodiments, the method further includes depositing asacrificial dielectric layer over the dielectric liner and over the airgap and performing a chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) process toremove the sacrificial dielectric layer and to recess the dielectricliner until the isolation structure and the metal plugs are exposed,wherein the air gap remains inside the trench. In a further embodiment,after the performing of the CMP process, the method further includesforming another interconnect structure over the backside of thestructure and over the dielectric liner, the air gap, and the metalplugs.

In some embodiments of the method, the forming of the dielectric linerincludes using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) withplasma generated from SiH₄ gas and NH₃ gas.

In yet another example aspect, the present disclosure is directed to asemiconductor structure having a frontside and a backside. Thesemiconductor structure includes an isolation structure at the backside;one or more transistors over the isolation structure and at thefrontside, the one or more transistors having source/drain electrodes; afirst interconnect structure over the one or more transistors and at thefrontside; two metal plugs through the isolation structure andcontacting two of the source/drain electrodes from the backside, whereinthe two metal plugs and the isolation structure form sidewalls of atrench; and a dielectric liner on the sidewalls of the trench, whereinthe dielectric liner partially or fully surrounds an air gap within thetrench.

In some embodiments, the semiconductor structure further includes asecond interconnect structure over the two metal plugs and at thebackside. In some embodiments, the dielectric liner is thicker at anopening portion of the trench than at another portion of the trench thatis deeper than the opening portion oriented from the backside to thefrontside. In some embodiments, the dielectric liner has a thickness ofless than 10 nm on the sidewalls of the trench. In some embodiments, thedielectric liner directly contacts the two of the source/drainelectrodes.

The foregoing outlines features of several embodiments so that those ofordinary skill in the art may better understand the aspects of thepresent disclosure. Those of ordinary skill in the art should appreciatethat they may readily use the present disclosure as a basis fordesigning or modifying other processes and structures for carrying outthe same purposes and/or achieving the same advantages of theembodiments introduced herein. Those of ordinary skill in the art shouldalso realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from thespirit and scope of the present disclosure, and that they may makevarious changes, substitutions, and alterations herein without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: providing a structurehaving transistors, an isolation structure that is at least partiallyover the transistors, two metal plugs through the isolation structureand electrically connecting to electrodes of the transistors, and atrench, wherein the isolation structure and the two metal plugs formsidewalls of the trench; forming a dielectric liner on the sidewalls ofthe trench and over the isolation structure and the metal plugs, whereinthe dielectric liner is thicker at an opening portion of the trench thanat another portion of the trench that is deeper than the opening portionso that an air gap is formed inside the trench and the air gap is fullyor partially surrounded by the dielectric liner; depositing asacrificial dielectric layer over the dielectric liner and over the airgap; and performing a chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) process toremove the sacrificial dielectric layer and to recess the dielectricliner until the isolation structure and the metal plugs are exposed,wherein the air gap remains inside the trench.
 2. The method of claim 1,further comprising: forming a dielectric layer over the isolationstructure, the dielectric liner, the air gap, and the metal plugs,wherein the air gap is sealed by the dielectric liner alone or by boththe dielectric liner and the dielectric layer; and forming conductors inthe dielectric layer, wherein the conductors are electrically connectedto the metal plugs.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the forming of thedielectric liner includes using plasma enhanced chemical vapordeposition (PECVD).
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the PECVD includesapplying plasma generated from SiH₄ gas and N₂ or NH₃ gas.
 5. The methodof claim 1, before the forming of the dielectric liner, furthercomprising: treating the sidewalls of the trench with a plasma havingatoms of nitrogen, fluorine, chlorine, oxygen, hydrogen, or argon. 6.The method of claim 1, wherein the providing of the structure includes:receiving a workpiece having a substrate with active regions, whereinthe isolation structure isolates the active regions, and the transistorsare formed over the active regions, the workpiece further having aninterconnect structure over the transistors, wherein the substrate is ata backside of the workpiece and the interconnect structure is at afrontside of the workpiece; attaching the frontside of the workpiece toa carrier wafer; thinning the workpiece from the backside of theworkpiece until the isolation structure and the active regions areexposed from the backside of the workpiece; etching two holes throughthe active regions to expose the electrodes of the transistors from thebackside of the workpiece; forming the two metal plugs in the two holesrespectively; and etching the active regions between the two metal plugsfrom the backside of the workpiece, thereby forming the trench.
 7. Themethod of claim 6, wherein the transistors include FinFETs and theactive regions include semiconductor fins.
 8. The method of claim 6,wherein the transistors include gate-all-around FETs and the activeregions include semiconductor fins.
 9. The method of claim 1, whereinthe trench is as deep as or deeper than the metal plugs.
 10. A method,comprising: providing a structure having a silicon substrate, anisolation structure over the silicon substrate, one or moresemiconductor fins extending from the silicon substrate and over theisolation structure, one or more transistors formed over the one or moresemiconductor fins, and an interconnect structure over the one or moretransistors, wherein the silicon substrate is at a backside of thestructure and the interconnect structure is at a frontside of thestructure; attaching the frontside of the structure to a carriersubstrate; thinning the structure from the backside of the structureuntil the isolation structure and the one or more semiconductor fins areexposed from the backside of the structure; etching two holes throughthe one or more semiconductor fins to expose two source/drain featuresof the one or more transistors from the backside of the structure;forming two metal plugs in the two holes respectively; etching the oneor more semiconductor fins between the two metal plugs from the backsideof the structure, thereby forming a trench; and forming a dielectricliner on sidewalls of the trench and over the isolation structure andthe metal plugs, wherein the dielectric liner is thicker at an openingportion of the trench than at another portion of the trench that isdeeper than the opening portion so that an air gap is formed inside thetrench.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the trench is as deep as ordeeper than the metal plugs from the backside of the structure.
 12. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the air gap is fully surrounded by thedielectric liner alone.
 13. The method of claim 10, further comprising:depositing a sacrificial dielectric layer over the dielectric liner andover the air gap; and performing a chemical-mechanical planarization(CMP) process to remove the sacrificial dielectric layer and to recessthe dielectric liner until the isolation structure and the metal plugsare exposed, wherein the air gap remains inside the trench.
 14. Themethod of claim 13, after the performing of the CMP process, furthercomprising: forming another interconnect structure over the backside ofthe structure and over the dielectric liner, the air gap, and the metalplugs.
 15. The method of claim 10, wherein the forming of the dielectricliner includes using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD)with plasma generated from SiH₄ gas and NH₃ gas.
 16. A semiconductorstructure having a frontside and a backside, comprising: an isolationstructure at the backside; one or more transistors over the isolationstructure and at the frontside, the one or more transistors havingsource/drain electrodes; a first interconnect structure over the one ormore transistors and at the frontside; two metal plugs through theisolation structure and contacting two of the source/drain electrodesfrom the backside, wherein the two metal plugs and the isolationstructure form sidewalls of a trench; and a dielectric liner on thesidewalls of the trench, wherein the dielectric liner partially or fullysurrounds an air gap within the trench.
 17. The semiconductor structureof claim 16, further comprising: a second interconnect structure overthe two metal plugs and at the backside.
 18. The semiconductor structureof claim 16, wherein the dielectric liner is thicker at an openingportion of the trench than at another portion of the trench that isdeeper than the opening portion oriented from the backside to thefrontside.
 19. The semiconductor structure of claim 16, wherein thedielectric liner has a thickness of less than 10 nm on the sidewalls ofthe trench.
 20. The semiconductor structure of claim 16, wherein thedielectric liner directly contacts the two of the source/drainelectrodes.